1 Kings 20:21

1 Kings 20:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
• New International Version (NIV)The king of Israel advanced and overpowered the horses and chariots and inflicted heavy losses on the Arameans.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the king of Israel went out and struck the horses and chariots, and struck the Syrians with a great blow.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the king of Israel went out and attacked the horses and chariots, and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter.

Context of 1 Kings 20:21

19So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them. 20And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen. And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. 22And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said to him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee. 23And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

1 Kings 20:21 word by word

וַיֵּצֵא֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַיַּ֥ךְ אֶת־הַסּ֖וּס וְאֶת־הָרָ֑כֶב וְהִכָּ֥ה בַאֲרָ֖ם מַכָּ֥ה גְדוֹלָֽה׃Read the interlinear

• kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• smoteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• horsesסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
• chariotsרֶ֫כֶבrekeb · chariotH7393
• Syriansאֲרָם'ărâm · SyriaH758
• greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• slaughterמַכָּהmakkâh makkeh · woundH4347

Cross-references for 1 Kings 20:21

• 1 Kings 20:28And there came a man of God, and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
• 1 Kings 14:23For they also built for themselves high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.
• 1 Samuel 4:8Woe to us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.
• 2 Kings 19:12Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden who were in Thelasar?
• 2 Chronicles 32:13Know ye not what I and my fathers have done to all the people of other lands? were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of my hand?
• Psalms 50:21These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
• Psalms 121:1I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from which cometh my help.
• Isaiah 42:8I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 20:21

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-21Verses 12-21 The proud Syrians were beaten, and the despised Israelites were conquerors. The orders of the proud, drunken king disordered his troops, and prevented them from attacking the Israelites. Those that are most secure, are commonly least courageous. Ahab slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. God often makes one wicked man a scourge to another.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-22Horses and chariots were important in ancient battles. Ahab's defeat of most of Ben-hadad's forces was crucial to prevent future attacks. However, God's prophet warned that the king of Aram would come back. in the spring: Late spring and early summer were common times for war in the ancient Near East. Armies could rely on good weather and grain from the early harvest.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-2113-21. behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab--Though the king and people of Israel had highly offended Him, God had not utterly cast them off. He still cherished designs of mercy towards them, and here, though unasked, gave them a signal proof of His interest in them, by a prophet's animating announcement that the Lord would that day deliver the mighty hosts of the enemy into his hand by means of a small, feeble, inadequate band. Conformably to the…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 20:21

• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Prophecy

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Ahab
• Mark
• Samaria
• Benhadad
• Israel, Kingdom of
• Samaria, City of

Commentaries on 1 Kings 20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary